Don't Miss These Events in Lancaster

The AQS staff is already in Lancaster and setting up the show at the Lancaster County Convention Center.

Put these things on your "must do" list to make your experience at the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster a memorable one:

Don't forget to pick up your copy of the AQS Showbook - it's your guide to everything at the show. $1.00 at the Admissions Desk


1. There will be quilts and vendors on three floors of the convention center. Contests quilts and two special exhibits are in Freedom Hall; A Perfect Journey exhibit by Karen Kay Buckley is on Level 2 in the Commonwealth Ballroom, and the Botswana Collection - Fiber Revolution & Kalahari Quilts and the AQS Authors' Exhibit are on Level 3 in the Heritage Ballroom. Be sure you visit all three floors at the convention center!

2. There will be a special quilting bee with artisans from the Mennonite Information Center and Lancaster textile artisans at the Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum, 37 N. Market Street - a short walk from the convention center. There is also a special exhibition coordinated by the museum and Franklin and Marshall College exploring the connection between the quilts collected by Doug Tompkins, founder of the Esprit Corporation, and the fashions produced by Esprit in the 1980s. Special hours during the quilt show are: Monday - Friday, 9am to 7pm, and Saturday, 9am to 5pm. Admission is $6.00.

3. The Quilt Museum at The Old Country Store, 3510 Old Philadelphia Pike in Intercourse, will have special hours during the quilt show: Monday/Tuesday, 9am to 5pm; Wednesday/Thursday, 9am to 8pm; Friday, 9am to MIDNIGHT; and Saturday, 9am to 8pm; closed Sunday. See A Showcase of Quilts: Dazzling Contemporary Creations exhibit, plus Innovative Scrap Quilts by Elsie M. Campbell, who will also have a special book signing from 6 to 8pm on Wednesday with guided museum tours. Midnight Madness is on Friday until midnight, with special drawings between 9 and 11pm.

4. The Ricky Tims Concert is from 7 - 8:30pm on Friday evening in the Chapel at the Lancaster Bible College, 901 Eden Road. This will be a fun evening with humor, quilt stories, and music. Tickets are $15. There is free parking near the Chapel.

Special Exhibit at the Lancaster Textile & Quilt Museum

THE GRID: AMISH QUILTS, ESPRIT CLOTHING, AND POSTMODERN DESIGN - On Exhibit during the AQS Quilt Show at the Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum, 37 N. Market Street, in downtown Lancaster

Contact: Wendy Nagle, Executive Director wnagle@lancasterheritage.com Phone: (717)-299-6440 THE GRID: AMISH QUILTS, ESPRIT CLOTHING, AND POSTMODERN DESIGN LANCASTER, PA - THE GRID exhibition, opening First Friday evening,  March 4, 2011, is a joint project between Franklin & Marshall College’s  Art and Art History Department and the Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum. Featuring the “Esprit Collection” of Amish Quilts as well as artifacts from 1980’s  fashion and culture, this exhibit demonstrates the influence of traditional Amish  designs on postmodern art and fashion. Used as design inspiration in Esprit headquarters during the creation of their iconic  1980s fashions, the 'Esprit Collection' of Amish quilts is shown here in the company  of Esprit objects for the first time. Paired with Esprit sweaters, advertisements, and  other objects of postmodern design, this exhibition celebrates the traditional Amish  culture in a magnificent display of color, style, and aesthetic beauty. Titled THE GRID,  the exhibition examines the common reliance on the grid as a design matrix by both  Amish quilters and modernist designers, and compares these with postmodern  experiments in 'breaking' or 'exploding' the grid. This first-time collaboration between Franklin & Marshall College and The Heritage  Center of Lancaster County, seeks to attract viewers interested in local tradition,  fashion, and brilliant design. Dr. Amelia Rauser, Associate Professor of Art History  at F&M led a fall seminar of six students who studied these quilts. Dr. Rauser states, “THE GRID exhibition presents a wonderful opportunity to travel back in time to the  1980’s and see how our local culture revolutionized the American ideas of art and  fashion.” Wendy Nagle, Executive Director of the Heritage Center of Lancaster  County, which owns and operates the museum, shares the story behind the  development of the exhibition. “The idea of looking at these THE GRID: AMISH QUILTS, ESPRIT CLOTHING, AND POSTMODERN DESIGN quilts through  the lens of 1980’s Esprit fashion was brought to us by Gloria Mast, a local  adjunct professor of art history and curatorial consultant to our museum. This  past summer during a museum focus group at F&M, we shared the concept with  Dr. Rauser, who immediately saw the connection between the quilts, fashion and  art. We were excited by the possibilities, and delighted to be able to make these  magnificent historic objects accessible for the students’ study and observation.  It is our hope that this will be the first of many future collaborations with our  higher-education community.” The museum will open for the season Tuesday March 16, just in time for the  American Quilter’s Society’s Lancaster event week. Hours during the quilt  show are: Monday - Friday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Daily admission is $6 per person, which includes admission to the  textile and Christmas exhibit galleries, and the magnificent Grand Banking Hall. The museum gratefully acknowledges our 2011 exhibit sponsor:  Two Dudes Painting Company. .

Quilts, Quilts, and More Quilts to See in Lancaster!

There will be plenty of quilts to see at the AQS Quilt Show in Lancaster, PA, March 24 - 27, 2010!

Here is your guide to the QUILTS at the show:

* Freedom Hall in the Lancaster County Convention Center (LCCC) - AQS Contest Quilts (who will win that $10,000 Best of Show award?); Special Exhibits: New Quilts from an Old Favorite: Sunflowers, and Women's Journeys in Fiber

* Commonwealth Ballroom, Level 2 at LCCC - Special Exhibit: Living Colour, Association of Pacific West Quilters

* Heritage Ballroom, Level 3 at LCCC - Special Exhibit: Point of View, Studio Art Quilt Associates

* Liberty Place Conference Center - Special Exhibits: Amish Influences - Quilts by Sharon Norbutas & Klaudeen Hansen; Pilgrim/Roy Challenge 2011; and A Slice of Life - Coastal Quilt Artists
You can park at the Liberty Place parking lot, stop and see these quilts, and catch the complimentary shuttle to the convention center!

In addition , be sure to visit these two AQS-sanctioned events...

Tribute to the Civil War, designed by Sarah Maxwell and Dolores Smith

• Spring Quilt Blossom Festival at the Coutinental Inn, Route 30 (2285 Lincoln Hwy E), Lancaster; open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wednesday – Saturday. A Tribute to the Civil War quilt designed by Sarah Maxwell and Dolores Smith of Homestead Hearth, and quilts representing major battles of the Civil War designed by Evonne Cook of Clothesline Quilts will be on exhibit, along with vendors on two floors. This event is coordinated by Sue Ashe. Free Admission. Ride the shuttle from the Lancaster County Convention Center to the Continental Inn to attend this event.

• Lancaster Quilt & Textile Museum, 37 N. Market Street (just a block from the convention center); open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday – Saturday. See Amish quilts from the Esprit Collection, and a special exhibit, Family and Friends: Quilts and Their Connections, will be on display. An evening reception featuring local quilters and hosted by textile historian and author, Patricia T. Herr, will be held on Friday, 7 – 8:30 p.m. Museum Admission: $6

Amish Quilts in Lancaster

Don't miss seeing the Amish quilts at the Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum while you are there for the AQS Quilt Show, March 24 - 27, 2010. The museum is located a block from the Lancaster County Convention Center - it's an easy walk to get there.

Here is a short video giving you a sneak peak of the beautiful Amish quilts you will see there.

Watch the video.

Tickets for the Lancaster Quilt and Textile Museum can be ordered from AQS. Just click here to go to the AQS registration page to purchase your tickets.